Improvement in burning, roasting,, and smelting ores



WHELPLEY & STORER. I Bur'n ing, Roasting, and Smelting Ores.

- Patented Jan. '12, 1864.

1712: enion ytww, a% M a" No. 41,250. I

21 71 e; e s

JAMES n. WHELPLEY AND JACOB J. sronnn, on nosroiu, MASS.

IMPROVEMENT IN BURNiNG, ROASTING, AND SMELTING ORES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 4],250, dated January12, 1864.

To (ti/Z whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that we, J AMns D. WnnLrLnr and J neon J. Sronnn,ot' Boston,in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Roasting, Burning, and Smelting Ores, &c.; andwe do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription'of the construction and operation of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of thisspecification.

The drawing represents a longitudinal vertical section through thefurnace and its appendages.

The nature of our improvement consists in dropping finely-pulverized andhighly-heated ores into awater bath or upon a current of water on thehearth, so as to obtain a joint action of heat and moisture at the sameinstant, for

the purpose of more thoroughly desulphurizing or otherwise chemicallytreating the ores. To effect this the material, after being finelypulverized in a mill, is sifted or-.driven into the head of aperpindicular flue of a furnace, which is made expanding as it descends,as otherwise the object of the process would be defeated by the clingingof the substance to the sides of the flue; and the nature of theparticular devices by which we carry out the general principle of ourinvention consists, first in the employment of a long, perpendicular,expanding line, so that the comminuted materials to be burned orroasted,introduced over the center of the same, will neither strike against noradhere to the sides thereof so as to clog; second, in the employment ofa horizontal or nearly horizontal flue, I), in combination with saidperpendicular flue, as and for the purpose hereinafter described; third,in the combination of two or more opposite furnaces, I I, with saidperpendicular expanding flue, so that the flames or blasts from saidfurnaces meeting at or near the center of the flue will greatlyintensify the heat and prevent (what would happen with a single furnace)the impingement of the flame against the opposite side of the flue;fourth, in the employment of auxiliary chimneys, K K, to be opened orshut off over the furnacefires during the process of kindling anddrawing, fifth, in the employment of side openings, 1, in theperpendicular flue, at graduated distances, with brick or iron removablestoppers, forthe purpose of admitting atmospheric air and allowing theoperations going on in the flue to be inspected at different points;sixth, in pouring the comminuted materials to be burned or roasted intothe side hopper or air-feed hole of a Ihn-blower, aided by the secondblower, asdescribed, for induction into the furnace, whereby the saidmaterials are more evenly fed and better distributed through the blastthan they would be if introduced in any other manner, the two blowerstogether operating by force and exhaustion combined, a more evendistribution of the materials in the flame of the perpendicular andhorizontal fines; seventh, in the projection of a p erpendicular blastfrom a fanblower'down through the top of the furnace, and a long,perpendicular, expanding flue, carrying the material to be burned orroasted, in combination with the atmospheric oxygen which is to burn it;eighth, in the combination of two blowers, one at the top, as described,and the other below in the horizontal flue, to produce a balancedblast--i- 0., to draw the air through the horizontal flue and force itout of the exit H as fast as it is forced into the perpendicular fluefrom above, so that the of incandescence; tenth, in the employment of achamber, G, at the farther end of the horizontal flue, to be filled withspray by means of a revolving wheel or arm, supplied with wa' ter from apipe from above or from the side, the design of said spray-chamber beingto arrest the suspended. or floating particles that would otherwise beexpelled from the chimney H and lost; eleventh, in connecting the poolof water in the spray-chamber by a circuit or canal with the waterexternal to the furnace for the purpose of making a continualcirculation, whereby the same water may be used over and over again,becoming more and more charged with the soluble salts and otherextending into the wheel. 7 arms of the fan-wheel. also strike thesurface products of combustion; and, twelfth, in sup- .porting theperpendicular and horizontal lines on piers and arches in a tank ortrough, so

that the surface of the water therein may in effect form an air-tightbottom to said fines, I and at the same time allow the deposits to be'to describe its construction and operation.

It is obvious that there may be many devices or furnaces for carryingthe principle of our invention into practical operation; but that whichwe consider as practically the best wewill now describe.

- A is the shell of the furnace, of brick or other suitable material.

O is the drop flue or flame-chimney, from twelve to twenty feet deep,formed by the four partitions B B. A cross-section of this chimney is aparallelogram, measuring at the top six feet by one and one-half, and atthe bot tom six feet by three.

D is a horizontal continuation of the flamechimney O,supported by thepiers Y and arches V, the latter being below the level of the top of thetrough or tank Z, so that when said tank is full of water the surface ofthe water shall form in effect a bottom to the flue D, which arrangementallows the deposit on the bottom to be raked out under the arches Vwithout disturbing the draft or opening the furnace.

F is a partition or three-sided box, extending down from the top of thefine D a little more than half-way toward the bottom of the same,leaving a space between thesides of the flue for the draft to passthrough the holes 9 in the sides of said box.

E is a fan-wheel, placed as shown in the drawings, the axle passingthrough the holes g in the sides of the box F, the design of the wheelbeing to increase the draft and draw into the flame-chimney 0 throughthe ports t' and u and passages r a s an additional supply of air.

Attached to the shaft of the fan-wheel E, outside of the spray-chamberor air-box of the wheel, are arms or dashers b, in the passagewayleading from the chamber to the blower, which arms, when revolving,strike the'water,

- whereby the passages are kept cool with spray and the flame of thefurnace prevented from The ends of the of the water and fill the chamberG with spray by which all the floating dust and particles of metal arewet down, condensed, and deposited on the bottom of the chamber G andsaved, instead of being carried off through the chimney H and lost. Tofurther increase the quantity of spray in the spray-chamber, water maybe let in through pipes or openings at any convenient point, as throughthe stop-cock and pipe on.

I I are the fire-boxes, provided with grates P I, on which the fuel isplaced, the air being drawn or forced in through suitable openings inthe ash-pit I.

K and K are chimneys, provided with dampers, which are intended to beclosed except when the fire is being kindled on the grates P P and adirect upward draft is desirable.

T is an induction pipe or hopper on the top of the cover X, and situateddirectly over the center of the flame" chimney O, as shown in thedrawings.

M is a fan-blower, mounted on a suitable frame, 0, and connected withthe hopper T by means of the pipe J.

N (shown bythe dotted lines) is a hopper opening into the center of theblower M, into which hopper is fed the finely-pulverized substance to besmelted, burned, or roasted, the same being driven, by the current ofair generated by the fan, through pipe J into hopper T, and thence intothe flame or drop chimney 0, where it comes into immediate contact withthe flame and heat from the burning fuel in the fire-boxes I I. Thecolumn of air from the blower M down through the chimney C increases bylateral suction the draft through the fuel in the fire-boxes, and thisdraft is still further increased by the combined action of the blower'Eand the auxiliary blower opening into the ash-pits. (Not represented,being in common use in other furnaces.) The blower E is intended to befrom five to six times more powerful than the blower M-so powerful as todraw into the chimney (J, to aid combustion, strong currents of airthrough all the ports and openin s in the sides of the chimney whenrequired. lndeed, in some cases we dispense with the fan-wheel M, anddepend for the draft entirely on the fan-wheel E and the auxiliaryblowers forcinga-ir into the ash-pits, the material to be acted upon bythe flame being sifted into the hopper T.

When it is required to mingle steam with the flame and gases to producecertain results,

it may be admitted from pipes 20 into a chamber, 12, at the top of thechimney and through an opening, 3.

From the above description it is obvious that a large percentage of thematerial roasted, burned, or smelted will fall upon the hearth of thefurnace, or (when water is used) into the wateribath W. The remainingportion of the material will be drawn by the fan E into thespray-chamber G, where it will be wetted down and condensed, and therebyprevented from being lost by passing out through the chimney II.

Having thus described the construction and operation of our improvement,what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The heating and immediate quenching in water of finely-pulverizedores, substantially as described.

2. The perpendicular expanding flue 0, substantially as and forthe-purposes described.

The horizontal. or nearly horizontal flue D, in combination with theflue C, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combinationof two or more furnaces with a perpendicular expandingflue, substantially as set forth, and for the purpose described.

5. The auxiliary chimneys K K over the furnace-fires, for the relief ofthe fires during the process of kindling and extinguishing,substantially as described.

6. The side openings in the perpendicular flue at graduated distances,with brick or iron, removable stoppers, substantially as set forth, forthe purpose of inspcction'and the admission of atmospheric air.

7. The pouring of the material. to be burned' or roasted into the sidehopper or air-feed hole of a fan-blower for induction into the furnace,in combination with the second blower, substantiall y as and for thepurpose described.

8. The projection of a perpendicular blast from a fan-blower downthrough the top of the furnace, and perpendicular expanding flue,carrying the material to be burned or roasted, substantially asdescribed.

9. The combination of two blowers, one at the head or above, and theother below in the horizontal flue, to produce a balanced blast,substantially as described.

10. The use of a-water-bath or a wet hearth, commencing at the bottom ofthe perpendlcular fiue and extending along the horizontal fine,substantially as and for the purpose described.

11. The use of the spraychamber G and feeding the same'with water by aninduction pipe or sluice from the top or side, substantially as and forthe purpose described.

12. Connecting the pool of water in the spraychamber by a circuit orcanal with the water external to the furnace, for the purpose of makinga continual circulation, substantially as described.

13. Supporting the drop chimney C and horizontal flue D on piers andarches in a tank or trough, so that the surface of the water therein mayin efi'ect form a bottom to said chimney and fine and allow the depositsto be raked out under said arches without opening the furnace orafi'ectin g the draft, suhstantlally as described.

JAlWIES D. WHELPLEY. JACOB J. STORER.

\Vituesses:

SAML. S'ronnn, N. Anus.

